Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on June 1

ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening broadly unchanged at 9,021 points on Thursday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks:

COMPANY STATEMENTS

* BCV said it appointed Andreas Diemant, currently head of UBS’s Swiss institutional clients unit, to its executive board as head of the corporate banking division.

* Eastern Property Holdings Limited said its rental properties generated $19.24 million of net rental income during the first quarter.

* Evolva said it is negotiating a sole-source contract with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance the development and EPA registration of Evolva’s nootkatone product to help in the fight against the mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus.

* Gurit said its won a new contract for the production and supply of carbon fiber-based exterior car body panels to an Italian car maker.

* Kudelski Group said it signed a patent agreement with Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc.

* Nestle: Ethical Coffee Company, which makes coffee capsules compatible with Nestle’s Nespresso system, said the European Patent Office rejected an attempt by Nestle and Nespresso to have one of ECC’s patents, known as “harpoons”, revoked in the court of appeal.

* Novartis, the University of Georgia and Washington State University have reported the early validation of a drug candidate for treating cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease which is a major cause of child mortality in lower-income countries.

* SIX Group, which runs Switzerland’s stock exchange, said its chief executive will leave the company in the first half of next year and the board of directors is looking for his successor.

* VP Bank said it completed a share buyback programme launched in June 2016 and holds 8.66 percent of its own capital at the end of May. It also said Martin C. Beinhoff, member of group executive management and chief operating officer, will leave the bank at the end of June.